Gripper shuttle loom



De 7, 1954 E. PFARRWALLER 2,696,222

GRIPPER SHUTTLE LOOM Filed Jan. l0, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l wif/@TWATTORNEK DCC- 7, 1954 E. PFARRWALLER 2,695,222

CRIPPER SHUTTLE LOOM Filed Jan. l0, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

BY /f/af.

A T rom/Eff Efevvf N PFARE'WALLER.

Dec. 7, 1954 E. PFARRWALLER GRIPPER SHUTTLE LOOM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledJan. l0 1953.

IN/VENTOR.

United States Patenti() GRIPPER SHUTTLE LOOM .Erwin Pfarrwaller,Winterthur, Switzerland, assignor to Sulzer Frres, Socit Anonyme,Winterthur, Switzerland, a corporation of Switzerland Claims. (Cl.139-125) The present invention relates to a loom for weaving havinggripper shuttles which, after having been picked through the shed by apicking mechanism, are received and brought to a standstill in areceiving mechanism and transferred therefrom to a conveyor on whichthey are returned to the picking mechanism, and more particularly toimproved means for transferring the shuttles from the receiving stationto the return conveyor.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pendingapplication Serial No. 45,178, tiled August 19, 1948, now Patent No.2,538,798.

It is an object of the invention to provide means in connection with theshuttle receiving and brake mechanism of a gripper shuttle loom whichassure positive removal of the shuttles from the receiving mechanism toclear the mechanism and the brakes therein for the shuttles to bereceived subsequently and which means assure orderly consecutiveplacement of the shuttles on a conveyor for returning the shuttles tothe shuttle picking mechanism.

It is a further object of the invention to provide irnproved means forexpelling gripper shuttles from a shuttle receiving and braking stationto a return conveyor, which means assure orderly consecutive placementof the shuttles on the return conveyor at high speed, whereby the numberof picks can be increased.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a mechanism fortransferring gripper shuttles from a receiving and braking station to areturn conveyor, simple means for positively guiding the shuttles ontheir way from the receiving station to the conveyor, means forexpelling the shuttles from said guide means, and means periodicallyblocking discharge of shuttles to the conveyor, whereby said blockingmeans are actuated by the shuttles when they are moved by said expellingmeans.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a shuttletransfer and expelling mechanism between a shuttle receiving and brakingmechanism and a conveyor for returning the shuttles to a shuttle pickingstation in a loom for weaving, said transfer and expelling mechanismcomprising an expeller for the shuttles and a blocking device forperiodically blocking transfer of a shuttle to the conveyor, saidblocking device being actuated by said expeller.

An object of the invention is to provide in a loom for weaving havinggripper shuttles, a transfer and expelling mechanism interposed betweena device for receiving and braking the shuttles after they have beenpicked through the shed by a picking mechanism, and a conveyor forreturning the shuttles to the picking mechanism, said transfer andexpelling device including a guideway for the shuttles, means forexpelling the shuttles from the guideway, and a blocking member forperiodically blocking passage of the shuttles through the guideway,whereby said blocking device is unblocked by said expeller through theagency of the shuttles in the guideway and is held in blocking positionby said expelling means.

Further and other objects of the present invention will be hereinafterset forth in the accompanying specification Yand claims, and shown inthe drawings which, by way of illustration, show what I now consider tobe preferred embodiments of my invention.

In the drawings:

Fig.v 1 illustrates diagrammatically a loom to which the devicesaccording tothe invention may be applied;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic part sectional side view of a mechanismaccording to the invention;

2,696,222 Patented Dec. 7, 1954 ice Figs. 3 to 6 diagrammatically showthe expeller and blocking means of the device according to Fig. 2 inVarious operating positions;

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate diagrammatically a modified expeller andblocking device according to the invention in two diiferent operatingpositions;

Figs. 9 and 10 are diagrammatic sectional elevations of a furthermodification of an expeller and blocking system according to theinvention in two different operating positions;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the system shown in Figs. 9 and 10;

Figs. l2 and 13 are diagrammatic sectional elevations of yet anothermodification of a shuttle expeller and blocker according to theinvention.

Like parts are designated by like numerals in all figures of thedrawings.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, numeral 1designates a casing containing a drivemechanism for driving or actuatingthe parts of the loom which must be operated for eiecting weaving, suchas a warp beam 2 unwinding the warp 3, heddle frames 13, and a clothbeam 5 for winding the fabric 4. The` drive mechanism comprises a mainshaft 6 for operating a shuttle picking mechanism 7 and a shuttlereceiving mechanism 8. The picking mechanism 7 effects connection of aweft thread 10 with a shuttle 14 and picking the shuttle through theshed to the shuttle receiver 8 while the weft thread is unwound from aspool 11 which is situated outside of the shed. After having laid a weftthread in the shed, the thread is disconnected from the shuttle and thelatter is returned to the picking mechanism 7 below the warp 3 by areturn mechanism 9. The loom is started and stopped by manipulation of alever 12 connected with a shaft 12 whose rotation effects actuation of aclutch 15 for connecting and disconnecting shaft 6 with a motor 16 andof a brake 17 for the shaft 6. Shaft 6 may be rotated by means of a handwheel 18 if the shaft is disconnected from the motor 16. The individualparts set forth above are shown diagrammatically only as they do notform part of the present invention. Fig. land its description are merelyfor the purpose of explaining the type of loom and general organizationto which the subject matter of the present invention may be applied.

Figs. 2 to 6 illustrate that part of a shuttle receiving mechanism whichis the subject matter of the present invention. After having passedthrough the shed, the shuttles arrive at a shuttle receiving device on arunway 103 and are brought to a standstill by means of a brake, forexample as shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 45,178 nowPatent No. 2,538,798. Thereupon the weft threads are disconnected fromthe shuttles and the latter are expelled through a guideway 149 andpushed onto a conveyor 146.

The guideways 149 (Figs. 2 to 8, 12 and 13) or 161 (Figs. 9 to 11) areformed by slots in the plates 160 whereby the ends of the shuttles areguided longitudinally by sheets 188 and 189 (Fig. 1l) without slots.Sheet 189 has an opening 190 to permit passage of the shuttles from theshed to the runway 103. Several shuttles 151, 152, 153 may be in theguideway at a time. Fig. 2 shows the device in a position after shuttle.151 has been pushed from runway 103 into guideway 149 by means of pushrods 98 and 99, the latter being seen in Fig. ll, in the mannerdisclosed in my application Serial No. 45,178. Shuttle 153 has reachedthe discharge end of the guideway and is retained thereat by a blockingmember having a face 171 on which the shuttle rests. Blocking member 170is in the form of a lever swinging on pin 172 iixed on a stationary partof the loom. The lever is urged into blocking position by means of aspring 173. In the position of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2, anexpeller member 113, which is fast on shaft 112, is in inoperativeposition. Shaft 112 is operatively connected by means of an arm 111 to alink system, 110, 109, 108 and the latter is pivoted at 86 to a lever107 which is actuated by a cam 23 on shaft 6. Part 109 of the linksystem is a bellcrank lever swinging about stationary pin 105. Rotationof cam 23 effects oscillation or rocking of the expeller member 113. Anabutment 174 is made fast on shaft 112 and has a face adapted to engageface 175 on member 170 for xi'ng the latter in blocking position whenrocker or expeller member 1-1-3 is in inoperative position, wherebypassage of shuttle 153 out of guideway 149 is blocked.

The mechanism operates as follows:

The expellermember 1213 moves clockwise upon counter-clockwise rotationof cam 23 and engages` shuttle 153 when thev member has reached theposition shown in Fig. 3. At thisv time, abutment 174 has left face 175and unlocked member 171i.

Upon further clockwise rotation of shaft 112, the expeller' 113 swingsblocking lever 170 through` the agency of shuttle'153 out of the way ofthe latter, so that member 113 can continue its clockwise movement andpush the shuttle down tol conveyor 146 as seen in Figs. 4 and 5. In theposition shown in Fig. 5, lever 170 has been returned to its blockingposition by spring 173 and member 1113 prevents falling down of shuttle152 until member 113 is returned to its rest position, in which it isshown in Figs.. 2 and 6. The pusher rods 98 and 99 can now push shuttle150, which has in the meantime arrived on runway 103, into the guideway149 and thereby advance shuttles 151 and 152 until the latter comes torest on the face 171 of the blocking lever. The latter is locked inblocking position by the abutment 174. Shuttle 153 is carried away onconveyor 146 while being guided at the beginning by surface 177 of theblocking lever. The mechanism is now in the position shown in Fig. 2 andready for the next cycle of operation in which shuttle 152 isexpelled.

As seen in Fig. 2, the fulcrum 60 of lever 197 is yieldingly supported.It is mounted on a slide member 61 which is held in middle position bysprings 211B and 211. The latter force plates 212 and 213, respectively,against bearing 214 which slidably supports member 61 whose endsv areadjacent but not connected to plates 212, 213 when the fulcrum is incenter position. Displacement of member 61 to the right is yieldinglyresisted by spring 211 and the member may be displaced to the left fromthe position shown in Fig. 2 against the action of spring 210. A ball 64resting on top of rod 65 is received in a recess 63 of member 61 whenthe latter is in middle position. Displacement of slide 61 from itscenter position forces ball 64 out of recess 63 and downward, wherebyarm 43 fast on shaft 44 and supporting rod 65 is depressed and shaft 44turned counter-clockwise. Shaft 44 actuates conventional means forstopping the loom, such as shown, for example, in my co-pendingapplication Serial No. 714,022 oi December 4, 1946, now Patent No.2,546,833.

Ifv a shuttle is jammed in guideway 149 and cannot be expelled,clockwise movement of expeller 113 cannot be completed and member 61will move to the left. if lever 170 should not be able to return fromthe unblocking position in Fig. 4 to the blocking position, abutment 174will hit the lower end ot lever 173 and prevent counter-clockwisemovement of expeller shaft 112, causing member 61 to move to the right.in both cases, bally 64 will be forced out of its recess 63 and willdepress rod 65 and actuate ther loom stop-motion shaft 44. causing astandstill of the drive of shaft 1S` and preventing damage tothe shuttleexpelling mechanism.

The shuttle blocking member may be modified to have the configuration ofa two-arm lever 178 as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Lever 178 swings about astationary fulcrum 179 and is urged by spring 181) resting against astationary part of the loom into biocking position. The lower arm oflever 178 has a surface portion 171 on which shuttle 153 rests when thedevice is in the blocking position shown in Fig. 7. A surface portion177 at the lower end of lever 178 serves as a guide for the shuttle 154on conveyor 146.

The expeller member 131', which is fast on shaft 112, is provided withan abutment 182 engaging the end of the upper arm 183 of the blockinglever 17S and holding the latter in blocking position when the expelieris in rest position.

Fig. 8 shows the modified expeller mechanism inposition for expellingshuttle 153. Shuttle d has been carried away on conveyor 146 and member181 has been turned clockwise and its abutment 132 disengaged from arm183. r1`hev member pushes shuttle 15?. against shuttle 153 and thelatter pushes the lower arm of blocking member 178 out of its way,permitting the expeller 131 to push shuttle 153 by means of shuttle152all the way down and onto conveyor 146. Spring 180 can now swing theblocking lever back into blocking position for retaining shuttle 152until shuttle 153 has been carried away. Counter-clockwise movement ofexpeller member 181 clears guideway 149 for advancement of shuttles 150and 151.

Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate a further modification of a blocking devicewhich is actuated by an expeller through the agency of the shuttles tobe expelled from a guideway 161 which has the configuration of theletter S. A blocking pawl 184 swings on a stationary pin 186 and isurged to block the outlet of the guideway 161 by a spring 187. Movementof the pawl 184 by the spring 187 is limited and its blocking positiondeiined by abutment of the pawl against a stationary part forming theguideway. No special provisions are made for locking the pawl 184 inblocking position. The conveyor 146 is in inclined position aitordingsmooth transfer of the shuttles from the guideway to the conveyor. Aguide rail 148 prevents sliding of the shuttles laterally O11' theconveyor.

The guideways 149 or 161 may be cut out of a solid piece of material ortheymay be formed by a plurality of sheets 1631 having siots of thedesired configuration and being made fast on a longitudinal member 51 ofthe shuttle receiving device, as shown in Fig. 11. The expeller (or 113or' 181) preferably has two arms which extend between the sheets 160.Only one shuttle 159, that on runway 193, has been shown in Fig. ll sothat the illustration of the guideway and of the expeller is notobscured.

Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate a further modication of the blocking leverand of the expeller device. The former, 191, swings about stationary pin192'. The expeller rod 193 swings about a pin 195 on the expeller arm194, which arm is fast on shaft 196. The expeller rod 193 slides in aguide hole 197'. The upper part 19S of the blocking lever 191 has aprojecting portion 199 abutting a collar 2116 on rod 193 for locking theblocking lever 191 in blocking position when the expeller device 193,194 is in rest position.

Shaft 196 is turned counter-clockwise for expelling shuttle 153 causingrod 193 to clear the projection 199 and permitting iever arm 191 to moveto unblocking position. Hole 19 guides rod 193 for engagement of shut'-tle 153. This is shown in Fig. 13. Further downward movement of arm 194causes downward movement of shuttle 153 and pushing of lever 191 out ofthe way of the shuttle, so that the latter can drop on conveyor 146. Arm191 can move clockwise only until projection 199 abuts rod 193. Expellerrod 193 is guided in the hole 197 when the rod 193 is returned to itsrest position. Surface 291 of the blocking lever 191 engages at the sametime portion 290 of rod 193 causingy movement of the blocking lever 191into blocking position when surface 292 of the projecting portion 199comes to rest against the cylindrical surface of collar 2110 of the rod193; the device is now once more in the position shown in Fig. 12, inwhich rods 93, 99 can advance the shuttles in guideway 149 for movingshuttle 152 to rest on surface 203 of the blocking lever While l believethe above described embodiments of my invention to be preferredembodiments, I wish it to be understood that l do not desire to belimited to the exact detaiis or" design and construction shown anddescribed, for obvious modiiications will occur to a person skilie'd inthe art.

l', claim:

l. In a gripper shuttle loom of the type having shuttle picking means,shuttle receiving and braking means, and shuttle return means forreturning the shuttles from said receiving and braking means to saidpicking means; passage means for the shuttles interposed between saidreceiving and braking means and said return means, shuttle expellingmeans for expelling the shuttles from said passage means, and a blockinglever having an end portion adapted to block discharge of shuttles fromsaid passage means and said end portion being adapted to be engaged bysaid expelling means for locking said lever in its blocking position.

2. In a loom for weaving of the type having gripper shuttles, shuttlepicking means, shuttle receiving and braking means, and shuttle` returnmeans for returning the shuttles from said receiving and braking; meansto said picking means; a guideway for the shuttles interposed betweensaid receiving and braking means and said' return i means, shuttleexpelling means for expelling the shuttles from said guideway, andblocking means adapted to be actuated by said expelling means andcontrolling passage of the shuttles from said guideway to said returnmeans and having a guide surface for guiding the shuttles when they areon said return means.

3. In a loom for weaving of the type having gripper shuttles, shuttlepicking means, shuttle receiving and braking means, and shuttle returnmeans for returning the shuttles from said receiving and braking meansto said picking means; a guideway for the shuttles interposed betweensaid receiving and braking means and said return means, Shuttleexpelling means adapted to extend periodically into said guideway foradvancing the shuttles therein, and blocking means adapted to beactuated by the shuttles upon advancement thereof in said guideway bysaid expelling means for controlling passage of the shuttles from saidguideway to said return means.

4. In a loom for weaving of the type having gripper shuttles, shuttlepicking means, shuttle receiving and braking means, and shuttle returnmeans for returning the shuttles from said receiving and braking meansto said picking means; a guideway for the shuttles interposed betweensaid receiving and braking means and said return means, shuttleexpelling means for expelling the shuttles from said guideway, andblocking means adapted to be actuated by said expelling means by theagency of said shuttles for controlling passage of the shuttles fromsaid guideway to said return means.

5. In a loom for weaving of the type having gripper shuttles, shuttlepicking means, shuttle receiving and braking means, and shuttle returnmeans for returning the shuttles from said receiving and braking meansto said picking means; a guideway for the shuttles interposed betweensaid receiving and braking means and said return means, shuttleexpelling means for expelling the shuttles from said guideway, blockingmeans adapted to be actuated by said expelling means and controllingpassage of the shuttles from said guideway to said return means, andresilient means connected with said blocking means and a stationary partof the loom for urging said blocking means into blocking position.

6. In a gripper shuttle loom of the type having shuttle picking means,shuttle receiving and braking means, and shuttle return means forreturning the shuttles from said receiving and braking means to saidpicking means; passage means for the shuttles interposed between saidreceiving and braking means and said return means, shuttle expellingmeans including a rotatable shaft and an expeller element fast on saidshaft for expelling the i shuttles from said passage means, a blockinglever having an end portion adapted to block discharge of shuttles fromsaid passage means, and an abutment fast on said shaft and adapted toengage said end portion for locking said lever in its blocking position.

7. In a gripper shuttle loom of the type having shuttle picking means,shuttle receiving and braking means, and shuttle return means forreturning the shuttles from said receiving and braking means to saidpicking means; passage means for the shuttles interposed between saidreceiving and braking means and said return means, shuttle expellingmeans for expelling the shuttles from said passage means, and a blockinglever having an end portion adapted to block discharge of shuttles fromsaid passage means and to be eng: ged by said expelling means forlocking said lever in its blocking position; said passage meansincluding a horizontal straight inlet portion, a curved portion havingthe coniiguration of a quarter circle, and a vertical straight outletportion; said blocking lever being substantially straight and vertical.

8. In a gripper shuttle loom of the type having shuttle picking means,shuttle receiving and braking means, and shuttle return means forreturning the shuttles from said receiving and braking means to saidpicking means; passage means for the shuttles interposed between saidreceiving and braking means and said return means, shuttle expellingmeans comprising a bifurcated expeller element whose prongs engage theshuttles for expelling the shuttles from said passage means, and ablocking lever having an end portion adapted to block discharge ofshuttles from said passage means and to be engaged by said expellingmeans for locking said lever in its blocking position, said blockinglever extending between the prongs of said expeller element.

9. In a gripper shuttle loom of the type having shuttle picking means,shuttle receiving and braking means, and shuttle return means forreturning the shuttles from said receiving and braking means to saidpicking means; passage means for the shuttles interposed between saidreceiving and braking means and said return means, shuttle expellingmeans including a bifurcated expeller element whose prongs engage theshuttles for expelling the shuttles from said passage means, and ablocking lever having an end portion adapted to block discharge ofshuttles from said passage means and to be engaged by said expellingmeans for locking said lever in its blocking position, said passagemeans comprising a plurality of vertical flat plate members having slotsforming a passage for the shuttles, the prongs of said expeller elementextending between said plate members.

l0. In a gripper shuttle loom of the type having shuttle picking means,shuttle receiving and braking means, and shuttle return means forreturning the shuttles from said receiving and braking means to saidpicking means; passage means for the shuttles interposed between saidreceiving and braking means and said return means, shuttle expellingmeans including a bifurcated expeller element whose prongs have iiatsurface portions engaging the shuttles for expelling the shuttles fromsaid passage means, and a blocking lever having an end portion adaptedto block discharge of shuttles from said passage means and to be engagedby said expelling means for locking said lever in its blocking position,said shuttles having a rectangular cross sectional configuration, thecorners of the rectangle being bevelled to form flat surfaces for flatengagement by the at surfaces of said prongs.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name

